You Awake?
by ConNopales
Summary: It's the middle of the night and Ochako isn't quite tired yet. She needs to know what sort of quirks Katsuki thinks their hypothetical children would have. Banter and love-making ensue, and complete hero and domestic bliss seem within reach. But, like all good things, this too must come to an end. WARNING: Prequel/fluff/angst/MC Death This gets dark. Leads to a new kacchako multi.
1. You Awake?

"Katsuki?" Ochako whispered into the dark of the bedroom.

"Eh?" Katsuki grunted, turning his back to her in his half-slumbering state.

"You awake?"

"Tryin' to sleep." He sighed, "Whas' up?"

"Nothin', just thinkin'" Ochako giggled, reveling in the cool air of the fan blowing across her skin.

"Spit it out, you're gonna keep buggin' me anyway." He grumbled into his pillow.

Ochako raised herself up on an elbow.

"You ever thought about, if we had kids, what their quirks would be, or if they would even have them at all?"

Katsuki's eyes popped open.

Where was this coming from?

"Maybe."

"Really? What do you think they would be like?" she asked with excitement, clearly elated with the idea.

"They'd have quirks, that's for damn sure."

"So you would be upset if they didn't?"

"I...don't know. I guess...I'd have some fuckin' soul searching to do. I'll be damned if I repeat my shit with Deku with my own fucking kids."

"Aw, seriously? You'd dig into your feels for them?"

"I guess, Pink Cheeks. Anything I make with you is bound to be perfect one way or another. They'll just be kickass at other shit." He sighed, turning over finally to stare at her, too awake to try to sleep just yet.

Her face looked so beautiful with the slight sheen of sweat around her temples, her hair plastered along her forehead. It was like seeing her come out of a fight, but more put together. Without a second thought, he moved forward and kissed her where the light of the moon was shining along her cheek and jaw.

Ochako's laugh came out like a soft melody of warm summer nights. "So…" she pushed him back a bit, looking into his increasingly perturbed crimson eyes. "Their quirks. You think it would be more...like yours, and sort of chemistry related, or more like mine and kind of physics related? Or both?"

"I don't fuckin' know! I guess...it would be cool if it was a little bit of both somehow, some sort of zero gravity explosion sort of thing."

"Ha! What if it was like, Zero Explosions!" She guffawed. Spreading her hands high above her toward the ceiling.

"Stop it. That's sounds lame. What is that even…"

"Like, they can absorb energy instead of taking away mass! So they can make your explosions but they do it because they're like...a black hole that shoots things back out that go into it! Oh my gosh! That's perfect! YES!"

"No. That sounds stupid. What about one where they can touch things and turn them into bombs, that would be fuckin' siiiick."

"Ugh, that sounds..."

"Fucking amazing. It's too late, that one wins."

"No, I don't like it."

"Well you don't get a fuckin' choice Round Face, I make whatever spawn I make. And it's a cold, cruel, world babe. May the best quirk win."

"Ugh, you're such a...competitive...piece of…"

"Hot ass, right?" he chuckled, leaning into her with wide eyes.

"No. I was gonna say turd."

He barked an unimpressed laugh, "Just say shit, Ochako. At this rate, our hypothetical brats will already have a more colorful vocabulary than you."

"Okay! Shit! I was gonna say you're a competitive piece of shit!" She huffed, turning over so that her back was to him.

"Niiiice!' Katsuki growled low, sliding over to wrap his arms around Ochako's waist. "I love it when you talk dirty."

"Ugh, Katsuki that's gross." She laughed out loud, as Katsuki kissed up her neck from behind, rubbing slow, gentle circles into her stomach.

"Mmmmm…"

"It's funny hearin' you say that shit. Plus, I like it when you try to put me in my place. You're not good at it, cause…"

"You're amazing, yes, I know."

"Exactly! Which is why you brought up makin' some kickass quirky little assholes, right?"

Ochako feigned indignance, scoffing, "Eh, it was just a hypothetical question." Trying to ignore Katsuki's ministrations along her tummy.

"No, I think not." He whispered, gently tugging on Ochako's earlobe with his teeth as his hand moved further south, fingers rubbing gently over her clit through her underwear.

"Katsuki…" he elicited from her mouth.

"Yeh..." he rubbed short circles, and pushed in like the press of a button, over the fabric, "say it again." He urged.

"Katsuki…what the hell are you doing?" Ochako said, desperately trying to cling to her sanity. She really had just been wondering and wanted to know what he thought.

A gentle sucking and lapping at her neck caused Ochako to moan, as he sighed out, "Rolling the dice."

"Huh?"

"Let's roll the dice, and see what we get." He offered, pressing his now very stiff dick against her ass, starting a gentle back and forth movement against her, making her blank.

"Are...are you sure?" Ochako gasped, pressing a hand to his to put a little more pressure against herself.

"Hell yeh. Things are going good, why not?" Katsuki breathed heavily, trying to stay steady against Ochako, his mind going off at the thought of making a baby with her.

"Oh." She responded, already losing her breath.

Katsuki brought his thumbs to her sides, gently nudging her underwear down the high hills of her hips, caressing her legs partway down before she pushed them the rest of the way.

Gripping himself, he slid his dick between her thighs, feeling the beginnings of her wetness building between the lips of her slit.

"Uh, ah…"

"I fuckin' know...you always feel so good before I even get inside." His rough voice rumbled into her shoulder, kissing and sucking, removing the strap of her tank top, being sure to leave small marks for her to hide later as he pumped between her legs.

The pressure was great, but he needed more. But he'd come soon if he didn't stop himself. Their soft sighs and murmurs echoed over the sounds of the fan.

"Wait, let me help you." She said, pulling away to push him onto his back, eliciting a deep groan from Katsuki, his eyes scrunched tight in frustration at the loss of heat and slippery happiness before she settled atop him, again sliding back and forth along his length before trying to go down to bring her mouth to him.

"You kidding? Not a chance," he growled out, grasping her hips to keep her in place, stopping her from going further. "We're not wastin' a drop." Katsuki hissed, putting a hand behind her neck and sitting up a bit to bring Ochako's lips to his.

Ochako smiled and kissed along the edges of his mouth, never letting him completely in, reveling in the electricity shooting from her chest to her belly, building up stronger with each touch of their skin or gentle flick of their tongues against the other.

"Already so wet Chako…" Katsuki noted the ease with which he slipped between her legs as he glided a hand up the flat plains of her stomach, caressing along her breasts. He gently kneaded and massaged them before kissing down her chin, pecking her collarbone and down her chest to take a nipple into his mouth.

"Oh, Katsuki, unh, ah, ah…" she breathed, bringing a hand to rub along the back of his neck while he gently sucked, making tiny circles with his tongue, switching to give both breasts his attention while she continued to rock on his lap.

"Want it yet?" His words came out on a harsh breath against her skin, pecking back up to taste her lips. He wanted to savor the slow burn of their touches and prayed she wanted to take it slow too so that everything lingered.

"Yes, ugh, want it...so much…" she sighed out.

Ochako reached beneath her, grabbing his dick to carefully guide it up into her.

Katsuki's chest heaved, sparks flying inside him as she slowly slipped the head of his dick between the lips of her vagina, his eyes closing in what felt like slow motion at the sucking heat pulling him in.

"Thank fuckin' god...ugh ah…" he rasped, wrapping his arms around to bring her down into him. In an instant, he rolled her onto her back and brought a hand to cup her ass as he laid flat against her. And placed his other arm above her head to relieve some of his weight from her.

"Katsuki, please, wanna make you feel good." Ochako moaned out, lifting her hips up to keep the pressure on her clit.

"'Tsalright, this ways better." To make a baby, he left out, too embarrassed at being fixated on the thought. His dick twitched inside her, and he started to move to relieve the tension building. Helping her movements as he pressed her into him everytime he started to pull out.

In and out, languid and heavy. Ochako felt Katsuki pushing in and maintaining contact, then felt the full width of him dragging out like it was protesting leaving the grasp of her. She wanted to cry out at the level of tenderness he was showing her.

"Ochako. I'm...gonna fill you soon baby. Okay?" He spoke into her ear, nuzzling her cheek, leaving short and sweet pecks against them as he continued pumping, feeling her hands explore his back and ass.

Ochako could barely nod. "Already?" she asked in her stupor, heart stuttering in anticipation at his words. She was used to him wanting to take his time, but play for longer and go harder.

But this was Katsuki making love because sometimes he still had a hard time saying it. She worked to meet his thrusts, to show him how much she needed him deep inside, "just like this." She absently mumbled out her thought.

"Yeh, 'stoo much. I can't…" Katsuki slurred, pressing his lips to hers again, tight, holding there and breathing into her as he dipped inside, basking in her grip as he pressed into her clit, hoping he was showing her everything he felt.

"Please Katsuki wanna feel it...inside...ugh," Ochako whispered, moving to kiss his neck.

Katsuki sucked in a breath through his teeth, wincing a bit as he held on, trying to stay inside her as long as possible.

Quickly he rose up on the hand above her, "Look at me." He commanded, her eyes catching his.

"Come for me, Chako. Please." He begged at the sight of her, his voice rough and low, his chest tightening as his dick throbbed for release.

"Unh, unh...oh…." she let out before going silent, eyes closing, panting at the sound of his voice guiding her as he sped up.

Her long lashes fluttered open again, and he roamed the soft skin of her face, small gasps and moans escaped her full lips while his thrusts made her eyes roll back with the weight of his hips against hers.

"Yes. Chako, yeh. Want you." he exhaled, "feels so good."

"So close. Don't stop." She begged in a panic as she wound up tight, hanging over the edge as he fucked her.

"Oh god. Chako, I want this so bad." He rasped, touching his nose to hers, leaving quick kisses as he concentrated on getting her there without blowing before her. "So fuckin' happy, wanna fill you up...begging…"

"Katsuki! Stay! Unh...coming, coming...I…" she stopped, legs stiffening, brows furrowed in focus, rubbing into him as she squeezed around his dick. "...needed this. Need you Katsuki." She added, hands balled into fists to pull him to her. The pressure exquisite in every way as she got off around him.

He snapped. "Uugh...fuck. I'm coming." Katsuki grunted, voice low and quiet as he shot into her, ramming her into the bed, trying to remember to breathe.

"Yes." He hissed, hips jerking, unable to quit rutting into his wife, emptying into her completely.

She continued taking him, the feel of him spilling inside caused a small short circuit, and Ochako's head muted all sound before he slowed to a stop.

Out of breath, Katsuki plopped down, rolling them onto their sides to keep from squishing her, and he kissed her without any sense of what was happening anymore, brushing her hair out of the way while she lay dazed.

"Ochako?" He huffed, teasing her mouth with nips to bring her back to him.

"We...did it." She said with a blank stare at the ceiling.

She didn't look as happy as he felt.

"Yeh, that a fuckin' problem?" Katsuki demanded, already apprehensive, his high spiraling down a bit at her vacant expression.

Slowly, Ochako's eyes began to dart around the room, a hint of brightness peeking through her glazed look.

"No." She had the gall to sound like he was the one being weird, "That was awesome." She said, lips slowly spreading into a wide smile, whites of her teeth on full display, her blush lingering at her use of the word 'fucking'.

"But…" her smile fell.

Katsuki's heart hit a snag. "What?! You're fucking freaking me out!" He snapped, staring at her in concern.

"I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"I really want this…" she said bashfully, "...a tiny person, a baby. With you. I...just...idunno, I'm worried about losing something we don't have yet."

"Shit, I love you." He blurted, falling into the crook of her neck as he recovered from her tiny rollercoaster of emotion.

She laughed, body shaking as he hugged her tight. "Love you too Katsuki. You're not worried?"

"Nah," he said, bringing a hand to her belly, carefully massaging over it with his thumb. "Even if it...doesn't…" he hesitated, not wanting to be pessimistic, "I'll still have you, Cheeks."

Not wanting him to feel self-conscious about his words, Ochako struggled to keep from tearing up, slowly turning on her other side and pulling his arm around to hold her belly again, as if touching it could keep it safe.

"Night Katsuki, sorry for waking you."

"Ha! Anytime Pink Cheeks." He yawned. "And don't go blabbin' to Deku and Half-n-Half and the rest of our garbage ass friends," he added, staring at the fan blades.

"I didn't say anything!"

"Yeh didn't have to, I know you. I don't want anyone knowing until we're sure."

"Ugh, fine...ass." She responded sleepily.

"Yep." He ended with a satisfied smirk before drifting off.

The whir of the fan lulled them to sleep.

Katsuki and Uraraka dreamed of light brown hair, puffy cheeks, and tiny finger pads, reaching out to say good morning.


	2. You Don't Do Spicy

Katsuki's worried about Ochako, and he can't stop this nagging sense of powerlessness. So he makes spicy soup instead.

Set a little over 4 weeks after the events of Ch. 1 - You Awake?

* * *

"Ochako! I'm home!" Katsuki blared through their new apartment as he sat his bag of gear down and removed his sneakers at the entryway.

He was confused by the immediate lack of response. She always ran in for a hug if she was home before him, and he knew she was off today just so she could unpack.

But when he looked around, the kotatsu, books, and the video game system were out in the middle of the living room, a single container of half-eaten ramen and a can of soda sat on the wood floor beside it all, surrounded by a handful of boxes and partially assembled furniture.

Ochako and Katsuki found that, together, they actually preferred things a bit simple, almost minimal, because it looked clean, and trendy and...kept Ochako's anxieties around money in check. So, there wasn't much to set up, which is why Katsuki was wondering where the hell his wife was.

The house was so quiet.

 _Maybe she went out to run an errand,_ he thought as he checked the office and guest room before making his way to their bedroom.

"You in here Cheeks? You awake?"

Katsuki stopped at the threshold, struck at the peaceful sight of a slumbering Ochako on top of the covers, body curled up as if trying to hide from the cold.

This was the third time this week he'd found her asleep at a random time during the day. On Monday he'd come in from patrol and caught her on the break room couch, curled up, lunch untouched. And yesterday, she'd taken flex hours to be home for the movers, and he'd come in from his night shift to find her asleep under the kotatsu at one in the afternoon, nothing unpacked.

He'd put together the office, guest room and bedroom alone, because she said her head hurt, then turned over to sleep again - and it sucked.

And here they were, Friday, and again, she was out, looking like death warmed over.

He was starting to worry. And Bakugou Katsuki didn't do "worry".

"Chako! Get the fuck up! We're supposed to make dinner together you lazyass!" He said, striding over to the bed and bouncing on top of it to stir the small brunette.

"Mm...Katsuki. Welcome home." Ochako mumbled, her hair tweaked up and out of sorts as she lifted before she winced and laid back down.

"...get uuuuup!" He demanded, ignoring her obvious fatigue. She could handle a little bout of whatever this was, she was strong dammit, so why was she acting like this. "Come on! We've got a ribeye with our name on it, so get your ass up! " He repeated, almost whining, rocking the bed again.

She hadn't been eating a lot the past week, and he thought if they shared an awesome cut of meat, she'd get a little energy back.

His dad got this way with flu that had turned into pneumonia once, and that had been bad. But she didn't seem sick like that, so this was the best thing he could come up with, stuffing her full of tasty food.

Ochako looked up, a small smile gracing her cute face, and Katsuki could think of nothing better to do but touch his lips to hers to let out his frustration.

The sound of her deep intake of air excited him and he pulled her up to sit on his knees. She responded just like he liked, grabbing at him, scooting until her hips met his. It made his heart jackhammer in his chest as small hands rubbed along his scalp while they breathed into each other, lips touching and parting in a needy way.

"Mm...Ochako. I. Fucking. Missed you. This week." He said in between kisses, happy to lose his mind to her and just feel. She pulled away smiling, eyes glazed over, a bit of color returning to her cheeks.

If that is what it took to make her look and act normal, he'd keep her in bed all weekend. _Kiss her everywhere to keep her like this,_ he thought as he leaned in for more.

Ochako leaned back.

"I'm sorry Katsuki. That does feel good…" she laughed softly, "But I'm actually still a little tired. If it's okay, I think I'll just head to bed." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying into him, head resting on his shoulder, breathing already starting to even out.

"What the fuck, seriously?!" He said, pushing her back by her shoulders, his concern rising, "Ochako, what the fuck is going on? You...I…" he stammered, not knowing what to say, afraid to name the weakness, afraid it was something bad and...real.

"I know. But it's okay. I ate a little ramen earlier, but I wasn't very hungry. Sleep'll help though, I always wake up feeling better."

"No. No! It's not okay!" He shouted with a slight clench of her shoulders, her eyes widened at the quick flip of his emotions. She was obviously in some sort of denial. "There's something...wrong with you. I can see it. Some moments you look perfect, and I think you're on the upswing, but the next I find you dead ass asleep like it's not the middle of the fucking day, like we don't have plans or shit to do. Your heads bothering you, you're not eating while you're still training and working. You're gonna fucking hurt yourself. I think…" he said, lowering his eyes as Ochako slowly started to look a little emotional, "I think you need to see the doctor. In case…" _In case what...in case what Katsuki?! In case she's fucking sick. In case she's fucking dying or some stupid shit?!_

"I'm sorry..." she said with a tight quality to her voice. Like she was holding back tears.

Without realizing it, his breathing quickened, heart racing for an entirely new and different reason. And it scared the fuck out of him. He didn't do "worried", and he absolutely reviled "scared". This wasn't him.

What the fuck! He screamed internally, letting out an actual growl and slamming his hands to his head, rubbing hard to stop the pressure behind his eyes. He didn't want her to say sorry, he just wanted her to be okay.

"I didn't seem that bad. I honestly just feel really tired, and maybe a little sick. But...I guess you're right. I...don't feel well. I thought, if I just kept going, pushed through it, it would go away. I don't like feeling weak any more than you do." She said calmly, pulling his chin up to gaze into her glassy stare. "But I guess I've been too tired to even notice it's probably time to get checked out. Whatever it is, I'm sure...I'll...I'm sure it will be something easy to beat," she said reassuringly.

But she looked so tired, it was hard to feel reassured.

"Fuck, this is stupid!" He shouted, and jumped off the bed, wordlessly urging Ochako to the edge. When she complied, he pulled her into his arms bridal style and walked out of the room.

"Katsuki?"

"Stop talking. You're gonna have a great fucking afternoon. We'll put your stupid little adventure-gathery game on the tv, you're gonna stay under the kotatsu where it's warm, and I'll cook an early dinner."

Knowing that once Katsuki had a plan, he followed through, Ochako simply smiled and snuggled into his chest before he set her down on the floor. She watched as he picked up her small mess beside the table, walked back to turn on the tv, and then went to the hall, his gait, even while doing menial tasks, was powerful and confident.

Ochako didn't know what to do or so. There was no more denying that she felt like her strength was being zapped and only able to recharge after extensive napping. But she was determined to stay up a bit longer, if only to at least try and get some food in, and calm his obvious anxiety a tiny bit.

Katsuki returned with a futon, blankets, and pillows.

He plopped it onto the floor a little closer to the tv, and unfurled the futon, making easy work of setting up the small bed. To finish it off, he picked up the kotatsu and placed it on the foot end of the futon, turning down the heat to the lowest setting.

"There. Sit."

"I'm not a dog Katsuki." She laughed brightly, crawling on all fours as if to prove otherwise to settle cutely onto the bed and slide under the kotatsu. It was super comfortable.

"I fucking know that." He scoffed, "I just need you to not do anything, and just relax."

He stood there and watched her snuggle in, and begin her game. The calming music and scenery was the perfect thing to keep her relaxed and happy as she started directing her character on the screen to climb a tree and gather eggs.

"God that's a stupid fucking game."

Tch

"Did you just…" clearly affronted, Katsuki pressed on his ears repeatedly similar to Ochako's button mashing.

"Sure did. That sound is super useful." She said with a yawn, not bothering to look at him.

He rolled his eyes and moved into the open kitchen. With the ease of a long-time cook, Katsuki measured out and started a pot of rice, glancing at Ochako occasionally to make sure she was okay. The clanking of pots and lids and things being chopped commenced.

The combination of sounds was such a comfort for Ochako.

"I'm gonna make a soup for the side, and it's gonna have some spice, but you gotta at least try it, okay?" He shouted over the sizzle in his pan as he started frying up some veggies, and finished preparing a pot with dashi stock and konbu.

"Yes, mom!" She responded, button-mashing against a mob in her game.

His brow furrowed razor sharp, gnashing his teeth as he cubed up the ribeye, determined to not argue back.

Ochako paused for a moment to watch him work, letting the wonderful smells wash over her. It'd been days since anything seemed appetizing, everything causing the undertone of nausea or a headache. She loved seeing the way he skillfully moved from one task to the next, his understanding and knowing just what to do to orchestrate his symphony and keep everything moving toward the ultimate finale. She also loved that focus and the intensity with which he did everything, like it was all a battle, just on different scales. She wanted to pay respect to it and enjoy the meal he lovingly prepared, whether he would describe it that way or not.

And she knew he was throwing himself into it extra hard if only to stop thinking for a moment and just be. Ochako hated that she was worrying him to this level. Even in the heat of a fight or rescue, he'd never been worried like this. Probably because whatever this was wasn't something he could fight.

She sat up, crawling out to grab her phone from the couch.

"Lay your ass back down!" Katsuki yelled over the counter. She laughed, hustling back with it, feeling a bit energized at just interacting with him. She'd make an appointment after dinner. If anything, now that she thought about it, she was more worried about how this would affect them trying to have a baby. They'd been…

 ** _Trying…_**

Ochako nearly dropped her phone, feeling her stomach as she sat up again, round eyes wide.

Katsuki emerged from the kitchen, setting up trivets and laying down a hot bowl of soup containing whole slices of chilies with a little beef and seaweed floating in it to share with a sliced omelet. He mistook her look of surprise to be about the look of the food. He went back and forth, finishing with setting down their dishware and the plate of cubed ribeye, cooked to a perfect medium rare.

Ochako, on the other hand, was busy going through a timeline in her head. It'd only been a handful of weeks. But all the signs seemed there. Missing a period, and spotting - none of that mattered to a highly active hero. So it still could be nothing. But...a quick search and thumbing through her phone, and she felt like...it was suddenly the only explanation.

"Come on, let's eat!"

"Right!" She said, putting it away under the table, her lips curving into an unbelieving smile.

"It looks and smells so delicious. Thank you so much! Your meals are always so simple and fast, we should start a hero cooking show, your fans would love it!" She said, happily popping steak and rice into her mouth.

It was savory, a little salty and so perfectly seared and warm but it left a bit of aftertaste that didn't sit quite right.

Though Katsuki was happy to see her more lively, he couldn't help but read her face with narrowed eyes.

"I think I might wanna cook this a bit more." She said with a wrinkle in her nose, trying not to offend him, but simply state her tastes. It wasn't exactly nauseating, but if she tried it again, she could imagine getting close to it.

Katsuki watched her take a bite of cabbage, irritated by how she moved it around to be rid of the other flavor.

He sneered. The steak was perfect, what the fuck was her problem.

"Try the soup." He urged.

It was a soup his mom used to make him when he was sick. She credited his consumption of chilies for his ability to bounce back from so many ailments. And even though Ochako didn't do spicy, he really just wanted an excuse to make something comforting.

Ochako laughed at the amount of spice she could smell coming off of it. It made her jaws ache and saliva filled her mouth, in a non-nauseating way. "Ha! You said this had a little spice. This smells like 10,000 Scoville worth in my bowl."

"That's literally nothing. I can show you the fucking scale." Katsuki said flatly disinterested in debating the hotness of the soup.

"To you." She whined.

"Just try it." He scoffed in impatience.

 _Well then…_

Ochako took a spoonful, hoping this wouldn't be the start of the full-on sickness inducing portion of her situation (if that's what it was). But the swirl of heat, grounded in a dashi base, with tiny shreds of seaweed and fully cooked beef, plus the crunch of a chili seemed almost exactly like something she didn't know she was craving.

This was amazing.

Katsuki sat staring in concern, watching Ochako consume spoonful after spoonful of something he thought he was making mostly for himself. Now he just wasn't sure what he wanted, but a fucking explanation would be nice.

"What the hell…"

"What? This is great! I didn't even realize...but this is exactly what I needed. I feel awake...and hungry! Oh man..." she said, following up with a giant spoon of rice, "...fanks Kaski! Can yo ake fis fomorrow?!" She asked, still chewing, snatching up the ladle to pour another bowl of soup.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

She swallowed and smacked her lips in delight. "Getting my nutrition," she said, raising another spoonful to her mouth.

"Now? With my soup?"

"I thought you wanted me to try it?" She asked, continuing to eat it with a self-satisfied smile, staring into his eyes while she bit into a slice of chili.

"I didn't think you were actually gonna eat it! You...don't like spicy shit!" He said, snatching the ladle after she put it down, holding it while he ate and staring straight back at her, determined to detain it until he was ready for his second bowl.

"Yeh well, I guess your baby must like it more than I dislike it." She said with a shrug, popping a slice of omelet in her mouth, tearing away from his now blank expression to fish a pepper out of her soup.

The ladle clattered onto the table, disturbing the platter of veggies and landing in the pile of steak bits. Ochako took a moment to collect herself, successfully getting a scoop of peppers and downing it as the quiet space filled with only the sounds of her games music. It was a happy little xylophone jig softly playing in the background that sounded like the morning sun rising over a sleepy village.

When Ochako finally looked up, Katsuki was already off the floor and on his knees beside her.

"You fuckin' serious?" He asked in a measured tone, calm, hands hovering centimeters around her form, seemingly almost afraid to touch her.

Ochako brought her hand up behind her head, scratching to relieve an itch that wasn't there. "Uh...I'm not sure, but it just sorta hit me while you were cooking. And...the symptoms fit...so far." She chuckled, pulling her phone out with a wave, still rubbing manically at the back of her head. "And...I...yeh, I think I might be pregnant. Which is nuts cause it's only been a few weeks, so that would mean we made it during the first…"

Katsuki's mouth was on hers, instantly shutting down her rambling, hands gripping her waist, rubbing gentle circles into her hips with his thumbs. This kiss seared her lips, his desperation and loved sinking all the way into wherever he touched before he pulled away, leaving her breathless.

"Fuck. What do we do to find out?" He breathed out, touching his forehead to hers before looking down at her stomach, searching frantically as if he'd be able to see the little thing forming.

"Just a pregnancy test, and then I guess a doctor to confirm." She giggled, amused by the way he was looking at her.

Ignoring her small laughs, Katsuki pushed the table off the futon, plates clattering and bowls of soup spilling on top. Then took her hands and guided her to lay down.

"What are you doing?" She laughed, feeling both tired again, and self-conscious as he got on top of her, hovering on all fours to stare before sliding down to lay beside her, placing his head on her stomach.

"You keep laughin' I won't cook for you for a fuckin' week!"

Running her fingers through his hair, she guffawed, "You wouldn't do that to me if it's true!"

"We'll see." He said, eyes still focused on the sweater covering her stomach, hand slowly gliding up to touch. He closed his eyes, listening.

Obviously, he couldn't hear a thing. But just the thought. Just the idea that the little building blocks of a person could be happening right beneath his cheek sent Katsuki's heart tumbling.

Someone half of him and half of her - the two best people he knew! The embodiment of their combination and attempts at becoming as close together as possible. A literal fusion of them in a bundle of potential energy sitting in Ochako's belly.

Yeh, Katsuki liked the idea a lot. So much.

"It's still early." he thought out loud.

"For what…"

"The test Round Face, the fucking test! Let's go get one!" He said, sitting up, impatience coursing through his veins.

"Oh...uh...but what about dinner?"

"Fuck dinner! Come on, get your shoes!" He commanded, halfway crawling and running to the entryway to put on his sneakers.

"I was thinkin' it was some crazy shit! But if it's this then, that'd be the best fuckin' news I've heard my whole god damn life!" He grabbed the key as Ochako joined him in the entryway, slipping into her flats and put on a scarf and hat, her chubby cheeks hurting from her smile.

"Let's not get our hopes up. Maybe it's just really bad PMS or something."

"Too late, get on my back, I'll keep you warm."

She laughed as he bent down to let her on. And they were off, out the door, down the hall, and into the elevators. Katsuki mashed the button for floor one so hard Ochako thought he might crack it.

"'Sides," he said, picking up where they left off, hoisting her around him to pin her to the wall of the elevator. He kissed her hard, hands holding tight to her legging-clad thighs, and pressing against her center, so jacked with energy he didn't know what to do but pour it into her. "We can try again real quick on the way back up."

"Katsuki!"

He grinned wide, mischief and excitement trying to edge out his worry.

Katsuki leaned into her, cupping her cheek as they kissed each other senseless during the ride down. But with the ding of each passing floor, Katsuki's anxiety ticked up, spurring him to hold her tighter and keep her close.

The feeling from earlier about his lack of control if something was wrong - knowing Ochako might be pregnant didn't make it stop. Now the worry was how he'd survive if anything happened.

"Katsuki…" Ochako gasped, moving her lips to kiss along his jaw.

"I fuckin' love you Cheeks, you know that?" He gulped, happy she couldn't see his face.

"Of course. I love you too." She sighed into his ear.

The elevator chimed and the doors slowly slid open. Ochako and Katsuki carefully readjusted, and he carried her out, eyeing the few people waiting for them to exit. Katsuki glared at them all, daring them to say some shit.

The couple made it to the store, picked up a few snacks, and headed back. They even braved a chance to quickly do exactly what Katsuki wanted, clothes on, during the ride back up. Considering their collective excitement and his anxiety were at max, it only took a couple of minutes to get them both to reach their high before they had to exit.

Once inside the apartment, Ochako breathed out heavy, anticipation filling them both.

"Okay! I'm gonna do the test and take a bath. And I'll...let ya know, 'kay?" She said, kissing him and heading off to their room.

"Kay," Katsuki said. Nerves buzzing through his fingers as he looked for something to do.

He started by cleaning up their dinner from earlier, salvaging what he could, and set out the snacks instead before sitting down to wait. Waiting definitely wasn't his strong suit either.

A few minutes later Ochako's voice echoed off the tile of the bathroom. "KATSUKI!", she screamed, causing his heart to ratchet up in beats. He jumped up, fight-or-flight active as Ochako ran out naked with a towel barely clenched over her chest for the sake of modesty. "Both of them!" She said with a rosy-cheeked grin, running and jumping up to kiss him. She slammed two white sticks into his chest before departing back to the bathroom. They almost floated away when she let go.

The sticks didn't look like they said anything. No yes, or no, just lines.

But he sighed happily nonetheless hearing Ochako's voice sing out in the bath.

"Fuck yeh." Katsuki chuckled, sitting down and falling back onto the futon, "a fuckin' dad, huh?" He asked himself, staring at the tests.

It seemed almost too good to be true.

And...somewhere inside, the ache of worry still lingered.

What would he do? How should he prepare? What's it like? How could he keep this painful sense of powerlessness from pulling him under knowing all the crazy shit that was out there in the world?

He thought he knew the answers, but he wanted to hear it firsthand.

Katsuki pulled out his phone, anxious for the conversation ahead.

There was no need to search through the contacts or think about what to dial because Katsuki knew exactly who would know what to do and say.

If there was anyone that would have some sort of answer for how to deal with this feeling, it had to be the most chill fucking person in the world.

After pressing the button, Katsuki held his breath, pooling his tension.

It only took a second before a voice came onto the other line.

"Katsuki?"

"...Hey old man." He breathed out, letting everything go. "Ya got a minute?"


	3. Pt 1: Too Much To Bear

"Shouldn't you be...I don't know, laying down, or something?" Izuku said, putting his hands out to a push-upping Ochako like he was touching an imaginary forcefield. If he could throw her in a bubble, he'd do it. Then leave her there until either the baby came out, or Bakugou came home.

Things might have been a bit less tense between him and Bakugou at this point in their lives, but that didn't mean the man with the explosive quirk wouldn't hesitate to place any blame on Izuku if harm were to come to Ochako while he was away.

"Saturday…" he sighed, "...just one day, at the latest. I can do this. Just keep her safe, and everything will be fine. There isn't much to it. I mean, considering the weird letters, we have to stay vigilant and theoretically the things that could go wr..."

Ochako couldn't help but snort, pink cheeks plumping up at Izuku's muttering. "You can do this, Deku!" She said, half joking, half serious, pumping a fist up while balancing on her other before resuming her pushups.

With cheeks deflated and mouth back in a frown, Ochako easily disguised her mood with the strenuous nature of the exercise. The attention her pregnancy incited in people made her anxious. Many didn't agree with her plans, while others truly believed she was at Katsuki's mercy as if he could force her to work and bare hero children. Convincing them otherwise was impossible when people thought they knew her life.

On top of that, she'd wanted so desperately to go on the trip with Katsuki, but her doctor's orders were simple. No traveling.

Desperate is the exact word she used trying to convince Katsuki to let her go. They were opening an office together, so they should train and learn about how to do that - together. But doctor's orders meant Katsuki wouldn't budge, and so Kirishima went in her stead. Better to maximize the benefit of the trip since Kirishima was opening an affiliate office, eager to build strong partnerships with his former classmates, and keep pace.

So Ochako was here - finally on leave, relegated to paperwork, wallowing in her frustration, and ready as hell for this baby to vacate her womb.

"You can joke, but I'm glad I am here…" Izuku stood up, hands on his hips, "...in case anything goes wrong, even with your exercises."

Ochako's bright laugh filled the space at Izuku's self-satisfied fearless smile. She knew that on the inside, Deku was happy when he could work his former teachers catchphrase into a situation. Like he was replaying an inside joke in his head, except everyone was in on it and couldn't help but be supportive. She guessed it was his way of coping, which made her a little sad at that thought.

Ochako huffed from her position on the floor, a soft smile reappearing because she couldn't be upset with Izuku here. "Twenty...It's fine Deku. The doctor said as long as I'm not going over my existing limits, I'm good to keep exercising and using my quirk….Twenty-one...Twenty-two…"

"I hear you. It's just that, I have this image of you, sort of bursting...and Kacchan saying "DIIIE" and mean it." Izuku said with a nervous laugh, flinching every time Ochako's round belly squished a bit against the hard wood of her living room floor.

"Deku...please...as much as...I do enjoy...your company...and you're...my best friend…so I love you, truly….no one asked you to be here." She breathes out with each push off the floor. " Not only will my parents be here soon, and Katsuki will be back tonight or tomorrow, I can take care of myself, honestly."

"I know, I know. But are you sure you know your husband?" Izuku chuckled. "Kacchan doesn't ask; he says 'If I come home and my wife and kid are anything but safe and sound, I'll hold you personally responsible'," Izuku mimicked a lighter version of that growly-rasp of a Bakugou Katsuki command, missing all the simmering redness and blasts of smoke to back it up.

"I understand," Ochako said, coming to her knees for a break from her set. "But Katsuki doesn't get to sort of demand a security cadre without consulting with me or threaten you to keep me safe. I have control too. No one has bothered me. Besides, if something happens, it's not like it'd be caused by you. Sometimes things just happen." Ochako waved him off then paused to stare at nothing for a moment, touching the bottom of her stomach with a quirked brow.

"I think that's the point," Todoroki added, coming out of the bathroom, wearing dark blue sweats and a grey shirt.

"Bakugou isn't worried about it being our fault; he's worried about the things he can't control. I imagine he thinks the more eyes he has on you, the less likely any of those small things could hurt you."

Ochako sighed.

Sometimes Katsuki still couldn't just say the things he was feeling, and the baby seemed to be bringing back a couple of old habits for him. She knew it didn't make him weak to worry, but it sure made her feel weak to be hassled and coddled by others. "Honestly, you're all a bunch of babies." Uraraka sighed frustratedly, taking a steadying breath as she stood, back slightly hunched.

Izuku's eyes zeroed in on her hands, brow furrowed, noting her avoiding his gaze.

"I'm not. I'm just telling you what I see. I give Bakugou credit for even relying on us for this." Todoroki offered, lacing up his sneakers at the entryway. "You ready?"

Coming out of her thoughts, Ochako caught Deku's stare and straightened up with a smile. "Yes! I did my warm up. Let's go!"

'

"What? Wait, where are you going? I thought you were working out here?" Izuku stared incredulously, following Ochako, clad in her black leggings, and salmon colored long sleeve workout top as she sat beside Todoroki to get her shoes on.

"On my run. I try to go at least once a week. Plus, I never work out here, I like to be out." Ochako happily hopped up, tight and round belly hardly jiggling from all the muscle protecting it.

"You're still running? Out there?"

"Yes, Deku. I just told you. I swore I wouldn't let this be a reason to slow down my career or change my own goals. And I can't let crazy people stop me from living. Katsuki and I can have a family and be heroes too."

"I understand...I just…" Izuku didn't want to dwell and upset her, but the situation was difficult to ignore, "I guess I'm just used to non-active pregnant people and tv show, pregnant people." He said instead as he brought a hand to his chin, thinking about the stereotypes of pregnant people on tv. None of those had been heroes, and he couldn't get pregnant, so what did he know.

"It'll be fine. Trust me. And Todoroki will be with me every step of the way. I just knew that if we let you come, you'd be nervous the entire way, and I just want to enjoy this run. And, convince this baby to pop out." She laughed, but she wasn't joking at all, and she hoped he understood.

"We'll be at the park! See you in about an hour. Help my parents when they get in!" Ochako shouted, scooching past Todoroki and jogging to the elevator.

"Shoto, wait." Izuku grabbed his partner's hand, carefully pulling him back before he can follow Ochako out.

"You sure this is alright? Her due date is in two days. I feel..."

"I don't know if it's alright, or if there's a "right" way, but I trust Ochako to know her body, and the limits she has for herself. Plus, she's right, I'll be there. And I know you trust me." He interrupted, giving Izuku a lingering peck on the corner of his mouth before closing the door.

Izuku sighed.

"Yeh...it's...gonna be okay. Everything is fine." He spoke into the quiet of the Bakugou apartment, touching his lips, walking backward into the living room.

He sat back on the couch, thinking of what to do with a day off, blocking the worry from his mind.

He laid down.

The sound of a clock ticking somewhere made him anxious.

Izuku thought back to Ochako's momentary pause that looked like she felt something but didn't say anything.

"No. She's fine. Everything is fine." He said once more, getting an ache in his chest.

Kacchan would kill him if something happened. And Izuku was inclined to believe he'd gladly let himself be murdered in the most brutal way possible if something were to harm Ochako and he wasn't there.

In a flash of green, he rolled off the couch and dashed into the guest room to change.

"It couldn't hurt to patrol, just in case."

* * *

"Thanks for coming with me Todoroki." Ochako smiled, happy to be out, pace relatively slow. She wanted to take her time and see the spring buds blooming across the park grounds.

"It's not a problem." He smiled, noticing Ochako's slightly labored breathing and a pinkness spanning across the top of her nose.

"How are you feeling?"

"Me? Ha! Just a little self-conscious." She laughed a little out of breath as they jogged. Her hand immediately came up behind her head, scratching at something she'd never reach.

"Oh?"

"People are staring at us."

"Oh," Todoroki said, looking around at other runners and park goers in various stages of gawking at a very pregnant Ochako running with someone who wasn't her husband through the park on a glorious spring morning.

Todoroki was fully aware of the level of scrutiny the Bakugou family was under. Not only were the tabloids full of it, but so were the op-eds in the national news. The worst things were anonymous letters from people offering to help Ochako escape, or even hurt her over all this.

Ochako was the first pro-hero her age to continue to work during pregnancy and was already drawing fire from people for her desire to pursue her career afterward. One columnist even dared to say that Ochako was setting an impossible standard for other heroes and parents to follow a

"I think it's unfair," he said without context for his thoughts. Ochako continued to walk without looking at him. "You're choosing to keep your child and provide it every protection you can. And Bakugou isn't Endeavour. I know he would never hurt you and that his temperament is just a part of who he is..."

Todoroki recalled a furious Bakugou exploding a glass into shards and sand at hearing Kaminari read an article aloud, saying he was an unfeeling, power-hungry, hero, unfit to raise a child. Bakugou took it as an insult against everyone close to him as if they were wrong for caring for someone like him. The fact that Bakugou could now admit those things out loud - be vulnerable and rely on his friends - was a testament to the almost decade-long bond they all shared, forged in the wake of All Mights end. "I saw a long time ago that Bakugou is capable of change." Todoroki finished trying to find other words of comfort.

Noticing Ochako's avoidance, Todoroki grabbed her shoulder. "Stop."

Ochako sighed and walked a step back to stand before him.

"This doesn't feel like the best place to talk about this." She said, eyes darting to the various onlookers.

"Well, as Bakugou would say, "screw them," they can think what they like. I'm serious…"

"You're always serious Todoroki." Ochako laughed with the barest of deflection.

"I mean it. This person," he said, gesturing to her stomach, "will have more support than the rest of us had growing up…"

"Except maybe Yaoyorozu," Ochako added lamely, attempting to cut the mood more.

"Maybe. But I'm trying to tell you not to let everyone out there get you down. Trust me when I tell you, every time I visit, I see what you two have built so far in that apartment, and it's full of more love than the first decade, and a half my life ever had. These people are not you; they don't get to decide what is best. You'll have your family, and...not just me and Izuku, but...all of us…" he hesitated. It was enough for Ochako to interrupt by launching forward into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing tight.

Not knowing what to do, Todoroki stood a bit awkwardly with his arms hovering over her, staring blankly at passerby's that smiled. He felt Ochako take in an extra deep breath, like someone trying to pull everything in to fit in a tight space. And he wondered how being alone for the past week had been affecting her. She was exactly the type of person to say everything was fine when it wasn't, but he also knew she genuinely was strong enough to handle anything, it was just a matter of whether or not she should have to.

A slight tremor wracked her body, and Todoroki finally settled his arms around her shoulders, offering his literal warmth to push away some of the coolness of the early spring air.

"I know you all have my back. I'm...super grateful. It's just hard hearing it day in and day out. I've been dreaming about moments where I set the baby down, and just...walk away! I don't even know why because I don't want to do that! That was never an option. Bakugou and I did this because we wanted a family, and we had what it takes to make this work...so I feel confused and a little scared. I don't know why people have to tear each other down. I don't know why it hurts so much."

"It hurts because you're a good person. And you want to make people happy. But you can't make everyone happy, and your life can't be negotiable with the public, especially the loudest minority of them. I've seen your fan mail. There are people looking up to you right now too. School kids in desperate situations are feeling like, if you can be a hero right now, then they can push through anything. But no one owns you. We're still free to decide what we do."

Ochako laughed at that, wiping her face on her sleeve. "Thank you, Shoto. I know you're right. Maybe I just needed to hear it out loud. That's a little hard when Katsuki's not here to shake some sense into me."

Todoroki blinked furiously for a moment, processing his name, before smiling softly, happy to have a barrier down with another former classmate.

"No problem." He patted her back, starting to move them along again. "Ready to jog?"

"Yeh." Ochako huffed out, composing herself, briefly making a face like she was assessing something.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeh, 'tsgood. The baby's just been real fussy since Katsuki left, kicking and moving a ton. "So I think they're like me - missing all the noise." She laughed, rubbing a hand along the bottom of her belly, taking in a deep breath between her teeth, and letting it out.

"Okay...if you say so." He had to be careful with this one. Some people thought that Bakugou was the only stubborn one of the two, but Todoroki realized that Ochako had her own streak when it involved her independence and abilities.

"Yeh, yeh. Course. Though, I think I wanna walk. It's a nice day, and I want to enjoy the last of the blossoms."

"Fair enough."

They continued along in silence. Occasionally, Shoto was unnerved by the drawn-out inhaling and exhaling of breath from Ochako. Whatever that was, Shoto wasn't sure that it wasn't normal either, but he was a bit preoccupied with the sensation of being followed.

At one point Shoto could have sworn he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look, there was nothing. He shook his head, keeping vigilant as they completed two circuits around the park, with nothing but the sounds of the city and distant laughter of park goers to keep them company.

Eventually, Ochako walked off into the grass, settling onto a bench just off the path.

"I just need to raise my feet for a minute; then we gotta grab some food because I am so hungry!" The small brunette groaned deep, pulling her legs up to take up the length of the park bench. "Shoto?" Ochako asked.

"Yes." He replied, eyes scanning every face on the path, stopping on the occasional paparazzi in the distance.

Something was off.

"Could you do me a favor."

"Sure."

"Can you tell me everytime four minutes go by?"

"What?" He looked down at her in confusion.

"Four minutes. Can you look at your watch and tell me everytime four minutes pass?" She insisted.

"You mean, repeatedly?"

"Yes."

"Of...course. For what reason?"

"Oh, ya know, I...have...to check my heart rate over that time, after exercise, to compare when I'm not pregnant. So I can do better with the next one." Ochako winked, making Shoto blush a bit despite his pricked nerves.

Shaking the unwanted image of his friends being intimate, he pulled up his watch, moved to the stopwatch setting, and began. There were other things to worry about right now anyway.

"So, for lunch, maybe we can make you something at your apartment," Shoto suggested.

He then raised his arms, bending backward and pretended to stretch as an excuse to look around more, feeling anxious at the thought that they were seriously being followed, but not wanting to alarm Ochako.

"No way! I'm a horrible cook, and I want something spicy and meaty!" She thought out loud, flexing her legs and feet, rotating them to lessen the bit of pressure building in them.

Shoto's scanning of the area yielded nothing out of the ordinary, but he still couldn't shake the feeling.

"How about I pick something up for you, and we head back to the apartment." He said a little more pointedly this time, causing Ochako to look up worriedly, searching his gaze for his true meaning. His gaze remained stern.

Her heart started to beat loudly in her ears, and the baby inside kicked at her uptick in stress.

"Uhh...yeh...I'm actually feeling a little pooped!" She bounced up with a dance to show that nothing was amiss, ready to make her way home.

Then Ochako paused, seemingly in a bit of pain before she was able to move again.

Shoto put his hand on her lower back. "Hey, are you okay?" He said, guiding her into his side as she straightened her back.

"Yes! I'm doing fine. Just...stress, ya know?" She said as Shoto's watch beeped.

"Four minutes." He stated while resetting the watch for another round. "How long do we track this for?"

"Oh, well, probably just one or two more times, my...heart is already...uh...slowing down, a little early. So...that's good." She said, walking away from him, hoping her nervousness over the situation played in her favor. She didn't want anyone to worry, and he seemed worried about something else. They'd get to the apartment, grab her bag, and then she'd calmly let them know she was ready to go to the hospital.

Shoto caught up to Ochako in a few quick steps, and pulled her into him again, trying to cover as much of her body as he could while they made their way out of the park and onto the city streets.

In her vulnerable state, Ochako knew better than to argue. All she could hear was Katsuki's nagging voice blaring in her mind to be on her guard when she was out. But what better place was there to be than in the company, and actual arms of the number two hero, Todoroki Shoto.

They continued on their way, weaving through the crowds of people going about their business. Shoto noticed some people recognized them, while others did their best to ignore the duo. For a moment, Shoto wished his quirk was like Ragdoll's, so he could search out quirks and stats. Then maybe he could guess intent.

A quick intake of breath from Ochako caused Shoto to panic, thinking something had happened as she bent over. He stepped in front of her to place his hands on her shoulders.

"Ochako?" His attention torn between checking her over, and the people slowing to stare as they walked passed. "You're not okay. What's wrong?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just ready to get home." She grimaced, breathing heavy.

Shoto didn't know what to do or believe. Ochako wouldn't risk losing this baby, so she had to be telling the truth.

Then his watch went off, and the gears inside his head began to spin.

"Four minutes. Ochako?" The tone in which he said her name caused her to look up almost bashfully. Seeing the small smile immediately diffused some of his concern but didn't stop it. "Can you walk?" He asked, thumbing a button on his watch as he looked down the sidewalk ahead.

"Of course." She breathed, standing tall once again with a determined mask on her face. She pushed past him, walking forward slowly and he grabbed her arm to keep her close. "Why are we taking the long way back?" She asked hiding the unease thrumming through her now that her pains were beating Shoto's timer.

"I didn't want to worry you, but there's at least one person following us, I think. It's just hard to tell when the paparazzi are always around because it feels like everyone is always watching."

Just after he spoke, Ochako caught a glimpse of something across the street on one of the buildings out of the corner of her eye, and her heart jumped. A cold shock flooded her limbs, stretching from her fingers to her feet.

Ochako worked so hard to focus only on the things she could control, but it seemed she should have anticipated dealing with this after all.

"Right ther..." Ochako was about to point before she realized maybe it was best not to show they were aware of being followed. Shoto, however, caught her drift and cautiously followed her side-eyeing gaze to the roof of a small office building across the street.

"Okay, I'll ping Izuku," he said, reaching into his pocket for his phone, "and we can...ugh," Shoto grunted as someone bumped into his bent elbow, sending his phone clattering to the ground.

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." Said a small black haired woman with a grin.

Shoto reached down to retrieve the phone, "It's no problem."

"Shoto!"

When he looked back up, the sheen of something stood between him and Ochako, separating her from his grasp. It was all around both of them. And the black haired woman stood behind Ochako, hands on the barrier.

It looked like two crisp and gleaming bubbles.

"LET HER GO!" He snapped, punching the hard barrier before putting a hot left hand on the wall encasing him, ready to attempt to burn through it.

People around them suddenly noticing the commotion began to scatter and scream. Seeing the number two and number six hero trapped inside bubbles didn't inspire a lot of confidence to stay nearby.

"Nah ah ah. I wouldn't do that unless you want to eat up all your oxygen. The bubbles aren't permeable."

"Now you just stay right there Todoroki Shoto, and we'll relieve Uravity-san of her burden."

"NO!" He screamed, just as he heard the shink of the anti-gravity hero's quirk, and Ochako's bubble lifted off the ground. Then a crackle of lightning resounded as a green blur dropped down from above, sending concrete and dust flying.

"Izuku?"

The debris cleared to reveal the woman in a bubble partially pushed into the ground, Deku on top of her with his leg outstretched in the aftermath of a wicked ax kick.

"It's okay, I've got the sidekicks on their way, and alerted Kacchan," Deku said, looking up into the sky at Ochako's bubble.

"I need you to let them go. What do you want?!" Deku shouted, stomping on the bubble, causing the woman to tumble about like a child messing with a hamster in a ball.

"I want to free good heroes from the clutches of false ones! We've been waiting so long. Now we have the power to do as we please." She yelled at him, fire in her eyes.

"False heroes?" Deku said, sending a confused look to an equally confounded Shoto. "So what, you follow Stain?" Deku thought to the long incarcerated hero.

"I fight to revive Stains vision. The League showed me I have that freedom."

"The League of...Villains?! What do they want with Uravity?"

From above, heart pounding wildly in fear, Ochako watched the scene play out below her, swiftly rising faster than she intended when she pushed against the top of her bubble.

"What do I do? What do I do?" She panicked out loud, looking around as her bubble climbed higher and higher, searching the ground, unable to center her thoughts. Then a pain hit, and Ochako fell to her knees, hands holding the bottom of her belly as she worked through what she was now certain were contractions. At a little less than four minutes apart, she needed to find a way out of this and fast, or she'd deliver this baby in a bubble with rapidly depleting oxygen.

Looking through the transparent floor, she saw something materialize. It's dark and smoky appearance similar to a swarm of bees looked eerily familiar. The shape and movement of it was like reliving a moment from their first training exercise at U.A., and it was forming partway between her and the ground above Deku.

Then a person, no...a thing, spilled out, falling toward her friends. It couldn't be...

"DEKU, LOOK OUT!" The adrenaline of the situation, fear for her friends, and her pain fueled the pitch and depth of her scream so that people for blocks heard it ring out.

Before he could receive more answers from the nonsensical woman beneath him, Deku looked up, "Nomu?!" and shot away in the nick of time. The brain exposed beast punched into the bubble where Deku'd been standing, bursting it like shards of glass, sending a shockwave rippling through the sidewalk, heaving the concrete and asphalt up meters around and causing the buildings to shake.

Ochako and Shoto's bubbles burst.

As she fell, Ochako's scream lasted for mere seconds, her throat choking with the wind as her stomach felt like it was being pushed into her chest just before she activated her quirk on herself, coming to a gentle stop mid-air, still high above everyone.

But she needed to get the rest of the way down. Without any special gear or a partner, that was only achievable by momentarily free-falling until just the right moment.

Do I wait, or do I help? She struggled internally. Through the blur of her panic, she heard a blast echo between the buildings. She looked down to see Deku and Shoto trading blows with the Nomu below, then felt arms around her waist and under her legs, pulling her to a hard chest before she was hurtling toward the brick wall of the nearest building.

"Katsuki?!" She choked out.

"No time. Help me down Cheeks." He said, not meeting her eyes, jumping off and down toward the street with a jerking motion.

"Oh. Right." She touched him so he could hold her tight to land. He hit the ground at the perfect angle to touch down in a run.

"Release." She whispered, hands together as they crossed the now empty section of street and Katsuki transferred her to Kirishima who was standing with a handful of sidekicks.

"Don't. Let anyone. Near her." He warned, mostly to the sidekicks, before running off to join Deku and Shoto. Kirishima smiled grimly at Katsuki's back. Ochako jostled to be put down while the sidekicks turned their vigilant gazes outward.

"I got ya Chako." Kirishima soothed as Ochako's feet touched the ground and she burst into tears. Pushing away from Kirishima's chest to bend over, a stronger contraction ripped through Ochako hard enough to make her want to throw up, and a pained cry bubbled from between her lips.

Kirishima searched her body for injuries, unsure what to do.

Heart dropping at the sound of her rumbling cry, Katsuki forced himself not to look back, and continued forward, jumping into the fray, blasting off an arm that Shoto had frozen, which immediately grew back without lag time, as Deku moved to get in punch after punch into the Nomu's torso. The force of each blow created a gust of wind forcing everyone to get down low and brace themselves. But this Nomu bobbed like a boxer, never letting Deku get a hit into the same place twice, or at all with the way it blocked.

Deku backed up to allow Katsuki an in with another blast before taking a few quick steps forward, almost parallel with the monster. Dropping his left shoulder, raising his right leg and pushing off with his left, Deku leaped into the air and spun backward to bring a hard kick down into the Nomu's chest, immediately following up with a punch. The beast slipped sideways, still upright, pulling up asphalt as it worked to regain traction and get back to the three men.

"This isn't working," Deku yelled, uppercutting it's chin as it roared back in. This thing was huge.

"It's been years; this one looks more intelligent too." Shouted Shoto, trying to catch the Nomu's feet to lock it in place if even for a moment, but it's minute movements kept it barely out of reach. Katsuki zipped around, popping off shot after shot, trying to explode its head without catching Deku in the crossfire, but any damage seemed to undo in an instant.

In a flurry of leaping, twisting kicks and punches, Deku pushed the monster back, while it flailed at shots of fire from either side as Todoroki and Katsuki worked to stay with the meleeing duo.

Out of the corner of his eye, Katsuki caught Kirishima trying to deal with a doubled over Ochako and realized what was happening just as Deku took a punch to the face that sent him flying toward the group guarding Ochako.

Damn!

Shoto doubled down, rushing to create a path of ice under and behind Deku to help him back on his feet while simultaneously keeping the Nomu back with a wall of flames, it's flesh burning and regenerating instantly.

"That's it!" Katsuki shook his head. "Todoroki! Give 'em everything you got, freeze him in place but leave his head uncovered and get Ochako to the hospital! You've got the smoothest ride; I got this!" He commanded, setting into a low ready stance.

For a second Shoto didn't understand, but then saw his ice path and nodded, slamming his foot into the ground to fully encase the Nomu in as thick a layer of ice as he could muster.

It stilled, screeching in wild fury as the ice already began to crack while Shoto sprinted over to grab Ochako.

Deku knew just what he wanted to do, but before he could reach the beast, Katsuki jumped onto the Nomu, his boots perched on its broad chest, latching onto the creatures head with his hands, palms primed and lit like a forge, melting the flesh. A low keening sound wailed over the Nomu's screams as Katsuki charged his palms at their center.

The Nomu broke free from the ice, and it's attempt at punching Katsuki's legs were met with Deku's own hands pulling down like an odd game of arm wrestling as he helped to give Katsuki the shot.

Shoto held Ochako tight in his arms as his feet simultaneously ran, then slid, while he built a long path over and across the abandoned cars and huddled masses of people watching from blocks away. Ochako watched the scene behind them over Shoto's shoulder.

Usually Katsuki wore a wild grin when he fought, like a twisted version of Deku's. But it was gone now, replaced with terrifying eyes and grit teeth over a lip lifted in disgust.

Katsuki dipped low, head near the ear of the monster, "I got your number asshole, right here." He said in a quiet fury. Pushing harder, Katsuki dug his fingers into the meat of its head, grip shaking in wrath before twin AP shots burst through its skull, down into its back, cutting the creature parallel to its center like slices of meat.

Before it could fall apart, Katsuki released one more explosion to remove the remaining bits of head and backflipped off. Deku released his grip on the chunked beast as Ochako and Shoto disappeared around a far off corner.

Crowds descended from every corner of the street, cheering as police tried to make their way through the mass of people offering their praise.

The sidekicks helped the police to establish a perimeter and searched for signs of other villains while Deku pulled the unconscious black haired woman out of the hole made by his earlier kick.

"Ground Zero. Deku." Asked a detective already on the scene. We need your statements so that we can begin our investigation."

"Uh, Kacchan, why don't you go, I have this. Ground Zero only just arrived. I was watching from above the entire time officer, so I have more information. This woman is the one that bubbled Uravity and Shoto." He offered the woman up like a sacrifice, happy to be rid of her. "I'd also like to speak to chief Tsukauchi; he'll want to know what we encountered here." The detective nodded as the other officers pulled the woman from Deku's arms and restrained her before carrying her away.

"I wanna read everything when it's done," Katsuki demanded, a grim look fixed on Deku as he backed away before turning around to find Kirishima.

"Let's head back to my place and grab Ochako's things. Her parents might already be there, so they'll wanna know what's up too if they haven't already heard."

"Wait, don't you wanna head straight to the hospital?" Kirishima asked, grabbing Katsuki's shoulder. The fiery blonde reared on his friend with a glare, slapping his hand away.

Kirishima put his hands out in a calming gesture, "Okay, man, alright. Whatever you want, let's go," he placated.

* * *

"Oooooh! Shoto, it hurts, it hurts! Where's Katsuki?!" Ochako panted, grasping at Shoto's neck, looking around over Shoto's shoulder, hoping Katsuki would follow soon. It was difficult to search while trying to find a way to scrunch up to ease the pain that was coming faster now.

"We're right there Ochako. Just hold on, okay? Bakugou's cleaning up, and he'll be right behind us." He said, eyeing the tall complex a few blocks away.

"I'm sorry. I should've said something way earlier. I thought it was gonna be easy! My mom...she made it seem...I thought...I thought I could just take a shower and grab some food, and go in when it was time. I didn't know someone would...! OW!" Ochako moaned as another contraction hit her, and she balled up in his arms.

Shoto felt something wet and warm running down the front of his shirt and shorts, but the hospital was so close he didn't want to think about what it could be.

"It's okay; you couldn't have known what would happen. I should have taken you home as soon as I thought someone was following." Shouto teared up, teeth clenched, unsure of whether or not what she was experiencing was normal. Ochako seemed a bit crazed, just blurting the first things on her mind.

His path leveled out and touched the ground, landing them under the awning of the emergency entrance of the hospital. A man in scrubs stood outside the sliding glass doors, scrolling through his phone until he noticed the pair arrive.

"Y-you are Sho…" he pointed at the plainclothes heroes in awe.

"Yes. I need you to help her. Now, please." His deep voice snapped the man into action.

"Yes! Uravity. I'm sor...yes; I'll take her." The nurse said. "Can I get some help out here, I've got a patient that appears to be in active labor." He said into a walkie-talkie before Shoto transferred Ochako into his arms. But she pulled on Shoto's shoulder, sliding her hand along the length of his arm as the nurse pulled away to head inside.

"No! Don't leave!" She cried out, her hand clinging onto Shoto's fingers as the nurse pulled.

"I'm sorry Uravity, he isn't family. I can't allow him back into the rooms. But everything is going to be okay." The nurse soothed.

"He is family! Please!?" She tugged harder, activating her quirk on Shoto as the nurse continued walking and another ran out with a wheelchair.

Seeing her this way made Shoto so nervous. He thought he might disobey the man until Bakugou showed up. But he had to be calm for her. "Let go Ochako. It's alright. I'll go back to the apartment, grab your things and see where Bakugou's at." He said with a reassuring pat on her hand, his legs kicking behind him as they lifted above his head.

"Uravity, we do need to get you to a room, it appears your membranes have ruptured. Things will be moving fast from here."

Shoto looked up at his wet sweatpants, and shirt.

"Tell him to hurry, please." She said grimacing then letting go. With a touch of her hands, she released her quirk and Shoto dropped, landing with the grace of a cat. The nurses whisked her away behind a set of double doors just beyond the entrance. It was difficult to ignore the sound of her gasps echoing behind it until the glass doors closed.

* * *

"I found her bag. You mind if I take a quick…" Kirishima's question petered off as he walked into the living room from Katsuki and Ochako's bedroom. Katsuki sat on the floor, staring at Ochako's phone on the low table.

"Hey, you...okay?"

Katsuki didn't answer.

"Bakugou?" Kirishima asked, walking around to take a look at his friend's face.

Bakugou lowered his head to escape Kirishima's gaze.

"I'm...gonna...take a quick shower before we head out, kay? You should change too. I doubt they'll let you hold your baby smelling like Nomu guts." Kirishima chuckled, as he dropped the bag beside Katsuki and walked to the main bathroom.

"I don't think I can go."

"What?" Kirishima backtracked.

"I said I'm not gonna fuckin' go!" He said, smashing his hands onto the table.

"Dude, you ca…" Kirishima paused, knowing full well "can't" isn't a word you tell Bakugou. "What the hell's up? For real? You didn't talk at all the whole trip, and when you did, you could only talk about getting back home, and suddenly you don't want to go? You heard her. She was in pain, and probably really scared." He shook his head, remembering Ochako's distress as he tried to hold her up. "Ochako needs you, man."

Kirishima sat down beside him. He'd wait however long it took.

"I wasn't home."

"...Yeh, but...you are now. And you saved her."

"No Kiri, you saw that feed." Bakugou growled out low, "I saw her drifting away in that bubble. I don't even know what that black-haired bitch said but I haven't seen Todoroki that scared since Endeavor's fight…and...he was useless. Even if I'd been with her...I woulda been…"

"No. No. Nah...this is me putting my foot down. You can't say that. There's stuff we can't anticipate. The public trusts us, and we put a certain level of trust in them to not jump us every time we go down the sidewalk. That lady took advantage of that. But that's not on you. It's not a weakness to not be able to tell the future."

"I thought I could do this, but I think it's gonna fuckin' kill me, Kiri." Katsuki's voice cracked. The sound of it like something being wound tight. "She was almost gone...like that." He snapped.

Kirishima sat quietly, unsure of how to respond. There was no denying that, from the looks of it, had the quirk been different, or the intent been different, Ochako and Todoroki could've been taken out like that.

"FUCK!" Katsuki screamed, flipping the table across the room, smashing into the back of the kitchen counter and scattering things.

This was everything Katsuki had been afraid of from the beginning. His nightmares come to life.

"I know I can't tell you what to do. But you know what I've always thought of you." He laughed, "You've given a piece of yourself to someone, to make another person, and you want so bad to protect it, that you're sitting here worrying to death." He said with a nudge of Katsuki's shoulder. "But right now...you're being...and I say this as your friend and someone that loves you, honestly…" Kirishima sucked in a breath, preparing to let out the ultimate criticism. "...you're not being manly at all right now. You're acting like a coward."

As Kirishima finished speaking, the sing-songy sound of the new automatic lock chimed, and the door clicked open.

Shoto walked in, eyeing the mess and broken table, his eyes set into a disapproving glare.

Katsuki shot up, walking over to the scarred man.

"What are you doing here? Where's Chako?" He said accusingly, sticking a finger out to push at Shoto's chest.

"Where you asked me to take her. The question is, what the hell are you doing here?" He answered, pushing Katsuki's hand away.

"Getting her things."

Shoto squared up closer to Katsuki. "Really? Because it looks like your busy acting like a child."

"Wanna run that by me again, Todoroki?" Katsuki met him, their glares burning into the each other.

"I defend you to everyone. I KNOW you are better than this. But this doesn't help," Shoto grit out, gesturing behind Katsuki, shaking the image of Endeavor throwing a fit from his mind, "Push through whatever is wrong with you and go to your wife! She needs you."

"You don't know shit half-n-half!" Katsuki's hands ignited, and he worked to restrain the hate brewing at being called out. "The love of your life could crack the fuckin' earth with a single kick if he tried hard enough! No one could hurt him!"

"AND YOURS COULD LIFT IT! I thought you knew what you had with Ochako! Unshakeable faith that she isn't weak! You were the first to know, and say it out loud! So what the hell is wrong with you right now?"

"Fuck you!" Katsuki moved to push Shoto, ready for a fight, half blinded by his rage and fear.

Shoto gripped Katsuki's burning hands before they could make contact with his chest, chilling them while pushing back hard to slam Katsuki into the wall of the entryway.

Kirishima stood ready, his heart hammering in preparation for how much it might hurt to get between the two titans.

"No! You don't get to do this." Shoto breathed cooly, the crackle of ice shooting up Katsuki's arms accompanied the threat in Shoto's voice. "You think I don't worry about Izuku? You think he's untouchable?!"

Katsuki was secretly grateful for the pain of Shoto's ice. It burned in a way that literally cooled his temper to something he could start to see through and navigate. But as his thoughts cleared, he was faced with the look in Shoto's eyes. They contained an overwhelming vulnerability that made Katsuki sick to see. Sick because he recognized it, and he didn't fucking want to. It caused a tightness in his throat that he held his breath against, like a dam holding back a flash flood.

"I worry more than anyone. My head and heart are wrapped in him. I live every day knowing that people want him gone from this Earth just for what he stands for, and that's my choice. I decided to be by his side, despite the pain and uncertainty, because it means I can also have his back. Just like you decided with Ochako."

Katsuki couldn't muster the heat through Shoto's tightening grip. He didn't know which emotion to pinpoint for the pressure building inside. He wanted it gone.

"We all have weaknesses. And I'm gonna tell you something I told Ochako earlier because clearly, you are both too prideful in this situation, especially you. We're all here for you." He paused to let it sink in, not caring about Katsuki's deer-in-the-headlights stare, "Look at Kirishima. He's ready to jump in, right now! To help you!"

The damn cracked a bit, something seeping through as Katsuki's eyes darted to his best friends matching red ones, desperately searching for something to anchor onto before he spiraled, hands still tense against Shoto's. Kirishima offered a small tilted grin, his brow soft in concern. Shoto shook Katsuki back. "Me, Deku, Everyone! You have us! You can't be everywhere. We can't anticipate everything, but we can fill in the gaps, be there for you and her, and this new person ready to come into the world. If you would just remember who the hell you are, get up, and go to them! We'll be there right behind you!" Shoto ended with another rough push. Katsuki bounced against the wall, head hitting first with a crack. The sound of it clearing away the last of the chafe from his emotions.

The block inside broke, and Katsuki's face crumpled, tears sliding down his cheeks as his festering anger overflowed. His grip went slack in Shoto's grasp as his father's words, telling him to let go of his pride, echoed parallel to Shoto's. His fear seeped out, spilling onto the floor for both men to see, like dead leaves fluttering to the ground. And he screamed.

Kirishima turned away, breath hard to draw without the risk of tears as for once it was hard to bear the frightened and angry sound of Katsuki's outburst. But Shoto didn't shy away, mirroring the blonde's descent to the floor, kneeling before him, hoping to keep him focused on dealing with his feelings.

Katsuki didn't know how to stop it. Covering his face with icy hands to try to keep everything from pouring out, to recover some semblance of control.

But how do you staunch a wound you can't see?

 _The sound of Ochako's laughter and her soft kisses in the night._

 _Her body in his grasp just before releasing her into the chaos of battle._

 _A moment where all his senses reveled in her as he laid his head against her protruding belly while they rested under the kotatsu._ All of his memories and feelings slid through his mind with the rapid in and out of his breathing. Then the image of Ochako in a bubble in the sky, floating swiftly out of reach set his shoulders wracking. His chest shuddered as each breath he took rasped like a rake scratching and bouncing to pull at autumn ground fall.

His rising body heat melted away the ice on his hands and arms, and Katsuki was able to grip his top, pulling at the fabric over his heart. He hiccuped for breath.

 _Forever and always._

He believed that, forever and always, it would only be him responsible for ensuring those honey eyes and pink cheeks stayed bright and warm, even if for some maddening reason, they looked at and burned for someone else. But Shoto put words to things Katsuki'd slowly been realizing over the years.

 _Not alone._ Katsuki's breathing slowed, the shuddering of his body becoming more gentle over time.

A family of twenty were always around. There on patrol during the day, bursting and blasting through villains beside him, glasses clinking and plates clattering over laughter and jovial conversation, having hard conversations and sharing the deepest pieces of themselves in the dark of night. And Katsuki had slowly been allowing himself to sink into it over time, each person chipping away at the parts that would typically make him keep them at arm's length.

He shook his head at the sight of it in his mind. Clear as day. There they were. Katsuki suppressed the urge to laugh hysterically.

Accepting a gift so vast went against Katsuki's very core. It had been painful enough taking it from Ochako, and now the safety and privacy with which she held his feelings was his harbor in any storm.

Now that he understood what he was being offered, could he take hold of it?

In that instant, two very different hands stretched out in his view, palms open wide.

Katsuki looked up, and for the briefest of moments, he felt the swell of rage at the familiarity of the situation. Izuku's concerned eyes, and tiny hands reaching out to pull him up when he was completely fine.

But the tug in his ribs, pain in his throat and emptiness of his home reminded Katsuki he was anything but fine, and the fire died like a simple candle being blown out.

He shifted uncomfortably.

After very little thought, Katsuki seized their hands in his own.

A drawn out sigh escaped his lips as Kirishima and Shoto pulled him up. The only lightness that could compete with the feeling was being touched by Ochako's quirk.

With a final raking breath, Katsuki huffed, running his hands through his spikes while the other two men waited in silence.

"You fuckers aren't ever gonna leave me alone, huh?"

"Not until the day we die." Kirishima beamed with one firm nod. Shoto smiled with soft eyes, nodding in agreement.

"You idiots." He grinned.


	4. Pt 2: Like A Dream

"I need to go to the bathroom! Please! Please!?" Ochako pled desperately at the latest nurse to enter her room in the labor and delivery wing of the hospital. She sat on her knees on her bed, bent over, trying to find some form of relief from the pain and ache. "Mama! Where's my mother?! Where're my parents!?" She said frustratedly looking back to the door, waiting for anyone that gave a damn about her to arrive.

She was done calling out for Katsuki. She was in this mess because of his stupid idea in the first place. All she had wanted to know about was hypothetical baby quirks, and this is what she got!

"Everything is alright Bakugou-san, you're just very close my dear. So everything's going to be coming on a lot stronger. But you're doing beautifully, and progressing well, so keep breathing until the doctor tells you it's time. Just a little bit more. Whatever you do, don't push yet, okay?"

Ochako nodded tiredly.

"Would you like me to bring you some more ice chips?"

"Yes, please." Ochako grimaced, and the nurse walked calmly out of the room.

Ochako's body bucked and tensed. She was torn between the urge to defecate something more massive than she was capable of passing like her body was threatening to split if she let it out, and the pain of the muscles in her legs, stomach, and back spasming uncontrollably. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to scream. But neither would be helpful, so she sucked in harsh breaths, and released them quickly, rocking into the pillows of her hospital bed and grasping the bed railing with her backside barely covered by a teal gown.

Out of nowhere, a warm hand slid hers off the rails, and the sound of Katsuki's husky voice came to her ear. "Lookin' good from this side Cheeks."

She would be lying if she said she didn't feel any relief at his arrival. In fact, her heart stuttered at the way he greeted her, his other hand sliding along her spine to rest at her lower back, rubbing smooth circles while he looked into her eyes. Ochako immediately envied how clean and comfortable he looked in charcoal straight leg jeans and a grey v-neck with a black hoodie. It only added to her resentment.

"Get. Out."

"What?!" He stepped back.

"What took you so long? It's been almost two hours." She puffed out her cheeks, utterly melting Katsuki's heart at her cute and furious expression, but he scowled as it compounded his irritation with her greeting.

"Which do you want? Me to get out or to answer your question?" He retorted with an attitude.

"Answeeeerrr!" She growled as another contraction ripped through her, lengthening her consonant as if holding it would help relieve the pressure and throbbing. Her heaving breaths made Katsuki uneasy. But seeing the redness in her cheeks bloom, and her brow furrowed, eyes stern, he thought she looked like she did right before she flew into a fight, and he couldn't help his pride swelling at seeing her holding it together.

Because, for all intents and purposes, she was preparing for a battle, and he thought she never looked sexier than she did at this moment, body prone, the curve of her spine accentuated as her lower half was raised up, head on the pillows with hands clenched tight on metal, like a cat mid-stretch. He'd only just arrived, and already she amazed him.

She raised her head, ignoring him to call out into the room. "Can I go now! Can I push, please?! Please?!" She breathed, cheeks puffing in and out rapidly.

"Oh, Bakugou-san! Just in time." A young person in a white coat came in with a wide toothy grin, seemingly trying to overcome an urge to gush and geek out at her patient as she shakily set a mug of broken ice on the bedside table. A cadre of nurses broke off behind them to prep various items around the room. "I don't know if you remember me from your first visit, but I'm doctor Hino." She looked briefly at Katsuki with a nod before turning her attention to Ochako. The shaking ceased as if switching from one mode to another. "Ochako-san, the nurses are telling me you're ready, so I'm going to check here..." and Katsuki's face brightened, eyes narrowing, immensely as he watched the doctor casually reach a gloved hand beneath Ochako's bent form and Doctor Hino's fingers disappeared to feel somewhere inside her.

The quick exam seemed to last for minutes as opposed to the seconds it probably was.

"Well, you are fully effaced and dilated, looks like it's time to start pushing." They said, pulling away. "You can stay like that, lay on your back, or however is most comfortable for you, so as soon as you feel the next contraction, go ahead and start bearing down and push. Bakugou-san, try to support her however she needs."

"Got it doc."

"No! I want my family in here, now…" Ochako cringed as another contraction placed immense pressure in her lower region and she pushed despite the newfound urge to wait.

"Your parents caught a late train babe; they're not here yet." Katsuki offered softly, face in a severe mask as she dug her nails into his hand.

Ochako glared at Katsuki with a seriousness with which he was unfamiliar. "They're not my only family you jerk." She panted out coldly while pushing through the pain, her patience non-existent.

 _ **Tch.**_

Katsuki was conflicted. Part of him relished her tone and the way it sent a little thrill up his back. Another piece of him was pissed that she was so upset - with him it seemed - to begin with.

From her position behind Ochako, Doctor Hino snapped her fingers at a nurse and pointed out the door. The nurse walked out briskly, presumably to grab anyone waiting for Ochako outside.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, "Fucking fine."

Ochako glared in defiance, never taking her eyes off his as she pushed. _As if he had a choice_.

"Okay, now I need you to stop pushing. Just wait a moment Ochako-san."

"Idon'twannadie! Idon'twannadie! Katsuki! I'm sorry!" Ochako whimpered, throwing her head back with a grunt as she laid back against the head of the bed, chest rising and falling rapidly with each breath. Katsuki paled at hearing her words and Kirishima, standing right behind him, turned to face the wall with a grimace. He couldn't help his friends. He couldn't help Bakugou, not with this.

From Izuku's vantage point, it was easy to see the doctor readying to catch a baby as a small dark-haired head gradually emerged from Ochako's center.

"Breathe, Ochako-san. What's happening, what are you feeling?" The doctor asked with only mild concern.

Izuku thought of his anxiety from earlier this morning and realized it was nothing compared to the very real image of standing at Ochako's head, stroking her hand while her eyes glazed over and she stared right through everyone in the room, the intensity of her pain draining her of energy.

"It burns...everything's slow...and…" Ochako trailed off, face contorting as she spasmed.

Equally as bad was watching Katsuki's evident distress. His fire diminished as he was out of his depth. He hadn't said a word since they'd entered the room and at the moment he completely missed what was happening below, focusing so intently on trying to hold Ochako's gaze. Now he was closer, his forehead leaning against the side of her head, whispering words that only they could hear and Izuku turned to Shoto's heterochromatic stare in an effort to give some sense of privacy.

Izuku's panicked breathing caused Shoto to pull him close while still holding onto Ochako's other hand which grew slack and shook as she poured all her energy into pushing. The doctor's placid mien confused Izuku, as everyone else rushed around his friend. He wasn't sure if it was just the pain or if Ochako was actually in danger, and he was too afraid to ask out loud, but the uncertainty was agonizing.

"Okay, okay, breathe and then push again on the next." Doctor Hino said, raising her brows in question at the nurse with the chart overseeing the soundless monitors behind them.

The next came so fast, barely a chance at all for her to catch a breath, and Ochako didn't even shout. She merely bared down, cheeks puffed, sweat sticking her hair to her face.

There was a feeling of all the sound suddenly getting sucked from the room.

Shoto leaned his forehead against the back of Izuku's shoulder. He didn't want to look. Today was already too much. He'd almost been responsible for losing Ochako once, and it felt strange to have the three top heroes of Japan together in a room, yet be utterly helpless.

Ochako released a stuttering gasp, and Izuku turned to see her close her eyes, and the clipped sound of a gargled cry filled the room.

"Fuck. Chako?" Katsuki's voice trembled. Eyes terrified, looking from his wife's pallid features to the small puffy alien-like baby being jostled, wiped and examined. Katsuki felt a shot of electricity surge in his fingers, and he gripped her hand tighter. "Ochako?!"

Her lashes fluttered, eyes half-lidded and a sort of drunken grin spread across her lips, and Katsuki slammed his face into the pillow beside her with a low grumble, smoke emitting from the fabric beneath his palms as he screamed while Kirishima joyfully slammed a hardened palm into his back. Izuku laughed with tears in his eyes and Shouto inhaled, his lungs burning from unintentionally holding his breath for so long.

"Congratulations. Bakugou-san, Ochako-san, you're parents to a healthy baby girl." Doctor Hino announced cheerily as a nurse swiftly wrapped the child in a blanket and placed her in Ochako's arms. "I'll give you a moment."

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" Izuku said, bending down to wrap his arms around Ochako and the baby. At least Ochako didn't look in pain anymore. She looked almost like nothing had even happened, only like she needed a bath and some sleep.

"Izuku's right Ochako. That was amazing. For a second I thought you were dying."

A curt, "Shut the fuck up Icy-Hot!", and, "Shoto!", escaped from Izuku and Katsuki at the same time.

Ochako chuckled, unable to muster the ability to laugh fully. "I thought so too. It felt like I was floating away. And it hurt so bad." She grimaced, adjusting to situp as a nurse scooched in to raise the head of the bed.

Katsuki busily smacked at the smoldering embers on his edge of the bed while staring in awe at the shifty red-eyed, lip-smacking, rosy-cheeked bundle of auburn-haired joy fidgeting in Ochako's arms. The piece of him he'd given over freely - in the flesh. A little living extension of them both, searching and grasping for something it couldn't quite see.

It felt surreal. Like a memory from a dream.

When Izuku lifted away, Katsuki's hand cautiously moved to touch before he stopped short, eyes flicked to his palm as he felt the slick sweat along it, then pocketed his hands with a scowl. Izuku and Shoto exchanged glances.

Ochako caught Katsuki's look and scoffed, affronted at having him pull away. "Stop. You'd never hurt the baby. Come on." She offered, palm out in invitation. Kirishima sidled into view over Katsuki's shoulder, bouncing up and down in excitement with his thumbs up in approval.

It was the second time today someone else reached out for Katsuki, and the gesture wasn't lost on anyone.

 _Stupid fucking trust...and love...and...shit_. Katsuki thought, expression still aggravated as he wiped his hands and took Ochako's. He'd be damned if he left her hanging after what he almost did earlier. He'd have to be honest later.

She pulled on him, bringing his palm to her lips and kissed softly, staring straight at him with a considerable blush gracing her cheeks. His heart jumped, breath catching before she pulled his fingers down on the blanket covering the baby.

Scoffing, he drew his face closer to Ochako's, the heat in his stare causing her to grin nervously. "You can't show me up Cheeks," he said before kissing her fiercely.

"Mm...mwait." She mumbled against his lips, pushing him back with a hand. "The baby."

"What? I didn't forget about the little runt." He lifted away a bit to take a look. Running his fingers across the babies cheeks and nose, and watching her open her little red eyes was like nothing he'd ever felt. Just as he was finally coming to terms with all sorts of extra feelings and love, this thing went ahead and shot a new one right through his heart.

Fuck. "She's fuckin' awesome Cheeks." He grinned like a maniac. "I'd say we did pretty damn good."

Ochako beamed, shrugging her shoulders happily. "I didn't do much, just ate."

"No way, you did way more than that. She's beautiful Ochako. Brand new, but already I can tell the cheeks come from you, and those eyes, just like a tiny Kacchan!" Izuku nodded vigorously.

"Yep, the perfect mix of my besties! So great!" Kirishima sniffed, nudging Katsuki aside to get a better look. "And oh my gosh! Listen to the sounds she makes, it's so cute!" Eyes twinkling, Kirishima moved his fingers in front of the baby happily trying to elicit more cooing and smacking noises.

Expression screaming murder, Katsuki pushed back hard with his shoulder, grunting with the exertion to not destroy the delivery room. "Alright, alright. Back the fuck up nerds. This is all mine."

"Glad to hear everything is still going well." The doctor said as they re-entered the room. "Ochako-san, before we move you to the maternity ward, if you already have a name for your baby, we can put that down for the files."

They'd thought about this awhile. Ochako wanted something simple, and Katsuki wanted something grand. In the end, they compromised, taking advantage of kanji that could mean something elaborate, but still create a simple name that pleased Ochako.

Ochako nodded, and the doctor brought forth a document and pen.

 **美火**

Taking the form back, the doctor smiled in surprise. "Oh, fire kanji, so sparkly*, no?" The doctor said with admiration at the unique character. "And how will you be pronouncing this?"

"Miho."

"Ah, without the spelling it seems like a simple country name. But a beautiful fire sounds very much like something extravagant, fitting for a hero such as Ground Zero-san."

Knowing full well Bakugou would have something to say Ochako preemptively smacked his arm. "Bakugou." she shot and he clicked his jaw shut. He then directed his ire to his wife's use of his surname.

"My apologies, for overstepping. I mean no offense. It's a lovely name. And, you know, in another spelling it could be especially apt. It can mean future as well." The doctor smiled, causing Ochako to nod her head in wonder at the happy coincidence. With a snap of the doctor's fingers and a thumbs up, the nurses pushed past the heroes to wheel out Ochako, who manipulated the baby's fingers into a wave at the boys. The doctor then turned to the heroes in the room.

"If you could grab her belongings, we will get Ochako-san setup in her suite for observation to make sure everything stays good. The nurses can direct you when you're ready. The police have stated they would like to ask you to keep shifts, if you weren't already thinking of it, to add extra security to the hospital, the chief will arrive soon." With a deep bow, they left the room, white coat fluttering.

The men turned to one another, feeling the weight of the chasm where Ochako's bed had just been. No one had yet brought up the earlier events of the day, and without Ochako to focus on, it was now in the forefront. Kirishima grasped Katsuki's shoulder, forcing his gaze to show him a resolute nod.

Thinking about tiny baby hands and chubby cheeks suddenly made the stakes feel that much higher. They thought of the youth of the world in a way that they hadn't yet done before now. For an instant, Katsuki wished to do away with the restrictions on killing villains. Anyone who would harm a child deserved to be erased from history.

Izuku grabbed Katsuki's smoldering fist and squeezed tight with a dip of his chin. Katsuki swiped his hand away, pissed that Deku was always hurting himself in little ways for others. Shoto nodded as well, looking every bit ready to take out whatever came next.

They'd get to the bottom of the new Nomu and the League, no matter what.

"For now, let's just be with Ochako and Miho, okay?" The serenity of Shoto's voice placated even Katsuki's volatile thoughts.

"Yeh," Katsuki replied, shrugging off Kirishima's grip to pick up Ochako's bags. "Thanks, assholes." He tsked, tossing one to Shoto and another to Kirishima, putting a damper on his emotions so he didn't say the next thing with glassy eyes. "I couldn't do it alone."

* * *

*This spelling of Miho is considered, Kira Kira, or literally "sparkly" in Japanese. It is a phenomenon where people make their children's names standout too much. It's similar to actresses naming their kids "Apple", or "North" in English, but the doctor is noting how the name sounds perfectly normal until you look at the spelling, and then you realize that Bakugou was being ostentatious as fuck because apparently, people in Japan don't often use the kanji for fire. Apparently, it's weird, or too showy.


	5. Bonus Scene: Shoto Shenanigans

Bonus scene!

"What's that thing that Kirishima is always saying to Bakugou when we go out to eat or get gifts and things?" Shoto whispered with a nudge to Izuku as they walked down the hall of the maternity ward just ahead of Katsuki and Kirishima.

"...uhh…you mean when he goes, "oh wow, is this all for me?", or, like, "dibs"?" Izuku laughed under his breath.

"Yes, that - dibs. Is that for everything?"

Izuku shrugged, never having considered the word before now. "Well, I think it's just a western saying for people to get what they want, but I guess, sometimes people do give it power. So...yes?"

Shoto nodded, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

"Hey you two, that's the room." Kirishima pointed to the door they almost passed, catching up to the duo.

"Oh," Shoto backtracked two steps, touching the handle before Katsuki and Kirishima could.

Before entering, he swiveled his head to Katsuki, who leaned away at the dry but somehow still wholly intense look Shoto was giving him. "I just want to say, that I don't ask for much, from anyone, ever. So I'm going to say the dibs on being first to hold Miho."

In that instant, time seemed to dilate so that the movement of Katsuki's confused stare morphing into a cutthroat glower took what felt like a full minute. Shoto actually smiled, a bit sadistically even, before time resumed and he opened the door, blocked Katsuki's feet with ice, and jogged in with the request on his lips way before anyone else had a chance to reach Ochako's bedside.

Almost falling over from trying to scramble past the door and realizing he was stuck, Katsuki jittered like a soda, bubbling from being purposefully shaken. His eyes went white with agitation while Kirishima held him up by his shirt, guffawing at Shoto's audacity. Izuku meagerly kicked at the ice, hand stifling his chuckles.

Ochako easily allowed Shoto his request, laughing boisterously at the curses and logic fleeing from Katsuki, now free and leaning against the door frame.

"Katsuki, you'll always be that crude dude I guess." She hiccuped, dribbling ice chip water out of her mouth. "I love you so much! Ha!" She giggled.

Shoto ignored them all.

Holding Miho felt like it required all of his focus. Like she was the most fragile thing in existence, and he needed to be sure he didn't breathe too hard to disturb her sleeping form. She was cleaner now, skin olive and hair as auburn as Ochako's, with strands of ash sprinkled throughout.

He'd almost let Ochako down today. But he vowed never to let this little one down ever. No matter the cost.

Across the room, the words, "He'sholdingyourkid, he'sholdingyourkid, he'sholdingyourkid," flew from Katsuki's mouth in rapid fire to keep his cool. He worked fiercely to reign in his impassioned need to tear Todoroki to pieces for stealing an honor that should've been his. Eyes screwed shut; fists clenched tight in concentration.

"Okay, it's your turn now." Came Shoto's placid tone, gently arranging Katsuki's convulsing limbs into a shape that could hold Miho.

As soon as Katsuki felt the weight of her in his arms, everything vanished. For an entire, solitary, moment katsuki was in a vacuum devoid of anger, or dread. Leaving only some sort of unadulterated joy that he'd be embarrassed at letting anyone else, outside of Ochako, know he could experience.

Whether he knew it or not, he couldn't hide anything from the people in the room.

"Shit's like a dream." He let out tightly under his breath.

Then, the bubble was back, front and center in his brain. And for a second he only knew that he almost didn't get a chance to meet her at all. "Ochako?"

"What's up?" She said with a bit of a bounce in bed, delighted at the bond she could already see forming between Katsuki and Miho.

"We go first, right? Whatever it takes?" He had to know they were on the same page. He wanted to make sure he wasn't overreacting or needlessly scared. Today was proof that something was out to steal them away. "Nothing touches her."

"Of course!" Ochako exclaimed without missing a beat. And me before you, she smiled wistfully. "Always."

"Hear that kid?" Katsuki said with a small jostle, causing the baby to stretch and yawn. "Not gonna let shit take you away, ya got that?". Never.


	6. Bright

This is still a safe chapter. It's pretty fluffy. Todorki plans a toddlers birthday party because Bakugou doesn't know what the fuck to do.

* * *

"Alright, Icy-Hot, I'm only gonna say this once, so listen up," Katsuki commanded over the phone, unsure if Todoroki Shouto was even really listening.

"Thanks." The implied, 'cause I wouldn't have known what the fuck to do' was probably lost on Shouto, but that didn't matter.

"Kid's gettin' ready right now. I'm finishing up this damn cake if my mom would STOP BUTTING THE FUCK IN!"

Sounds of a minor scuffle broke out over the line, and a feminine growl and guttural "Katsuki you ungrateful shit, I'm just trying to help make my granddaughters cake," could be heard before Katsuki came back with, "We'll be there in thirty, alright?!"

The scarred man nodded into the phone as if Katsuki could see, and hung up with a minute quirk of his lips.

"How's Kacchan doing? He sounded pretty pleasant." Izuku called out from the floor of the Bakugou living room, taking a break, face a little red from all the lung capacity being used on balloons.

"He said they'll be here shortly," Todoroki announced, eyeing their handiwork so far before he set up a special chibi Deku themed futon on the kotatsu at the center of the room.

"Ya know, I've never really known what it was like to have a big birthday since it was only ever me and my mom. But I think this is just the right amount of party."

"My old man never really gave us parties, there was always training to do. That could've easily been Bakugou." Todoroki said quietly, remembering Bakugou pacing in their living room in front of all the guys, complaining how Ochako finally wanted a birthday party for Miho now that she was old enough to remember. Bakugou had worried in a way that Shouto had never seen Endeavour do until it was almost too late in life. So Shouto enjoyed the split second of relief that crossed his friends face when Shouto volunteered to plan it. "I think it will fit everyone's tastes," he finished.

"Yeh, Bakugou will like the excessiveness, but Ochako will like that it didn't cost us much. I mean, it doesn't get much cheaper than 50,000 yen for a party." Izuku smiled, gazing at the myriad of balloons covering the entirety of the floor and hanging from the ceiling, the large Kotatsu now covered in overflowing bowls of chips and snacks with an empty spot waiting for a cake, and a tiny ice bucket of fancy juices. "And Miho won't care at all, I think. Not with this many balloons."

Shouto smirked, thinking of the little girl who was, for all intents and purposes, his niece.

If he'd been asked a decade ago, when they were fifteen, if he could see himself staying over at Bakugou's on weekends with Midoriya; having relaxing, rotating, weeknight dinner's and drinks; creating a path of ice to rush Ochako to a hospital when Bakugou was away; holding her little red-eyed half Bakugou creation for the first time; or blowing up over 300 balloons for said creation's third birthday, he'd have...calmly ignored them, and gone on with life, not believing a word.

Yet here he was, filling an entire apartment with balloons and snacks because all that time spent growing together meant he cared. Plus this was how they did it on tv, so why not. He figured his partner would stop him if it didn't seem correct.

In other words, however worried Bakugou was about how to be a parent, or throw a party, Shouto was even more clueless but he cared enough to try.

"Sero and the gang just texted that they'll be late, and Kirishima said he's on his way, just picking out a gift still. And I think Koda is going to bring some cute animal friends" Izuku said, walking to sit beside Shouto, thumbing through his phone as he settled in to wait for the girl of the hour.

"Yaoyorozu and Jirou are en route," Shouto added, checking his separate group chat between the girls and him, leaning his head on Izuku's shoulder in content.

"Everything's ready?"

Before Shouto could answer, the front door opened, a tiny voice already chattering away as the Bakugou family burst in.

"Cans I see it, cans I see? Please, papa?!" The toddler begged, oblivious to her surroundings. Her slouchy beanie cap over her bobbed hair, striped high collar tunic, Wild, Wild PussyCats pawprint hoodie, and black leggings made her look like a tiny model. She reached over and over for a box that Katsuki kept moving around to get out of her grasp.

"No! Take off your shoes brat!" Katsuki said, passing the box off to Ochako who was already out of her flats and making her way through the throng of balloons to place it on the table.

"Don't talk to my granddaughter that way you little…"

"Dear, Todoroki and Midoriya are here." Bakugou Masaru announced quietly.

While her grandparents discussed, and her father was removing his boots, a rogue balloon, bright and green, half the size of the tiny little Miho, bounced in front of the child as she chucked her tiny sneakers against the wall of the entryway, and her eyes popped.

"I don't care. Katsuki IS being an unfair little..." Mitsuki started as Miho turned.

"KATSUKI! IT'S BALLOONS!" The little girl cackled, interrupting all the commotion. She jumped up and ran, prancing through and kicking up every balloon in her path toward the kotatsu, "I LOVE BALLOONS!" She screamed, "KATSUKI! Look! I love balloons!" She continued, urging her father to follow toward the table.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, working desperately to not show how much she was making him want to smile like a dumbass. Ochako burst into laughter, accidentally activating her quirk as she clutched her chest.

"KATSUKI! It's your balloon!" The toddler jumped, pointing at her mother, wildly gesturing for Katsuki to grab her.

"She still calls you Katsuki?" Shouto asked. Midoriya stood behind him, covering his smile to contain a laugh.

The blonde scowled and reached up to try and grasp his wife, who deliberately kicked at his hands, happy to be laughing at his expense and the inadvertent and yet cute lack of respect from Miho.

"It's all we call him." Ochako gasped, trying to catch her breath, happy tears in her eyes as her daughter continued kicking up a storm, screaming, crawling and dancing through the balloons.

"Yeh, little punk's not smart enough yet to remember all the damn time." He said, giving up, waving off the woman on the ceiling.

The doorbell rang.

Masaru opened the door to find Tsu and Kirishima waiting.

"Hey! I caught this fly while I was walking up to the gate, Kero." Tsu said, stepping in first then revealing Kirishima, who was carrying a large picnic basket.

"What's in the basket Red!" Bakugou shouted over the chatter of people. "Oh well, I figured since you and Miho share a birthday month, you'd like some father-daughter outing materials. Come and get it, kid!" Kirishima yelled to the girl, who immediately stopped shoveling chips in her mouth and ran to the kneeling redhead, greasy fingers smearing his clothes as she hugged him.

"What'sis? For Miho?" The toddler asked.

"Yeh, open it up."

The puffy cheeked child undid the clasp and popped up a flap on the basket to reveal a jam-packed amount of chocopies, spicey ramens, and hot pepper flavored snacks.

"KATSUKI! SPICEY!" Miho screamed, looking to her father and smacking her cheeks, shaking her head like she was being hit by a taser, producing a thousand watt smile.

Katsuki clenched his fists hard to relieve some of the aggressive ache to squish his daughter, and hold her tight, the sides of his mouth pulling into an unintentionally soft smirk.

"What do you say?" Ochako said, finally touching down from her foray above, wrapping her arms around Katsuki's waist, and squeezed a bit at his hip as she held him.

"Thank you Ojisan Kirishima! Mraow!" She exclaimed, jumping up and instead of pecking him on the cheek, made a slurping sound, fake licking like a cat.

"No problem little one! Happy Birthday!" Kirishima gave her a sharp-toothed grin and looked at Katsuki.

"Yes! Happy Birthday!" She said, running off, continuing to slurp.

"It's her new thing. She decided her paw pads make her a cat." Katsuki offered, shaking his head like he didn't understand a goddamn thing.

"Oh well, then that's our cue," stated Midoriya, producing a small bag and holding it out to Miho. "Why don't you go ahead and open it, Miho."

"Yay! Presents! Ojisan Deku, Ojisan Icy-Hot! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She slurred, grabbing the bag, too excited to think.

Rummaging through a small tree's worth of tissue paper, Miho pulled out costume cat paws and a clip on tail.

Tiny fingers gripped the items tight as Miho's body shook, big eyes too excited to blink. "CATS!"

"Here, let's put everything on." Masaru signaled the toddler over, infected by the girls open and happy nature.

Ochako followed in the tiny girl's wake, picking up the paper and bag like a trawler. "Iida's brother offered to cater tonight, so he's bringing the food by with an assistant. Can some of you help Katsuki and me set up a few more low tables and move the couch?"

"Aw, you should've let us know Ochako, Shouto and I coulda had that done already. I'll help." Izuku kissed the top of Shouto's head and left.

"Us too!" Kirishima and Tsu added, before following Ochako and Katsuki into the hall.

Shouto stayed behind and sat on the floor, watching the little Bakugou play fight and paw at her grandparents.

He secretly enjoyed the wonderful sounds of a house filled with talking and laughter and hoped Midoriya and he would be able to have that one day.

Shouto wondered if things would be like this forever. Everyone together, raising the next generation as a community, sharing the love that they built for one another over so many years, and turning it into strength. To share each other's burdens and build each other up. Todoroki believed that would be able to get them through anything.

It's something he never had growing up, and even if he ever had children, he wanted to be able to always give that love and strength to Miho too so she could carry that torch into the future with her.

Without even realizing he'd drifted away somewhere, a tiny paw filled his vision, then gently grasped his cheeks.

"Ojisan! I love you smile!" Miho said, grinning big, eyes squeezed tight in glee.

Sure enough, Shouto could feel the rise in his cheeks, and the upward turn of his lips. At the realization, he closed his eyes at her touch, exhaling a small shuddering breathe. It burned a bit behind his lids and in his throat.

Miho, not quite understanding what was wrong, looked momentarily confused before she jumped, "Don't worry! I'll save you with Fearless Deku Smile AND HUGS!" She shouted, bringing her arms tight around his neck in a big bear hug.

Shouto laughed at that, intrigued at how Deku was indirectly a party to bringing back his smile even through this tiny person.

Shouto hugged her back.

"I love your smile too."

Miho cackled and ran off, diving and rolling under the sea of balloons.

Yeh, the future seemed pretty bright.

* * *

This is your first warning to turn back now if you don't like major character death, or implied major character death. Because we got it all. You are free to stay in this world where they all live happily ever after. The next chapter will be your second warning.


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